Ladies and Gentlemen of TPF, may I have your attention please! I'm gonna get started on this now, because space will be limited, and I would like to get everything reserved now if there is interest.

I would like to propose a week-long meetup, starting in Portland, and touring a whole lot of Oregon and Washington in July. You like shooting waterfalls? This is one of the best places in the world to shoot lots and lots of waterfalls. You like fireworks? Fine, let's be here over the Fourth of July and go to the fireworks show at Fort Vancouver, the largest display west of the Mississippi River. And while you're there, on the airstrip of the world's oldest continually operated air field, take some pictures of classic air planes you won't find anywhere else. Like cityscapes? Portland and Seattle, baby, two of the most beautiful skylines I know (some bias included :lmao. And, of course there's Crater Lake; the Central Oregon Coast; the High Desert; Mount St. Helens; Mount Raineer; Mount Hood and the beautiful Timberline Lodge; Wallowa Lake; Bend, OR; Spokane, WA; the wine country for which French and Italian vintners are selling their land in the old world and moving here; the Indian tribes and their art (the Columbia River was so heavily populated by the tribes here, that in one of their journals, Lewis and Clark said that at night, you could look in any direction and see the next camp fire of the next camp) and so much more that I'm not going to take the space to explain right here... But I will suffice it to say that the Pacific Northwest is a photographer's paradise. If all that's not enough for you, how about we throw in some time among the Redwoods in Northern California?

Want to make the trip ten days? Fine, we'll throw in Vancouver Island and southern Vancouver, BC as well (which also means two ferry rides through the San Juan Islands!)

You'll be touring Oregon with me, an Oregon native, as your chauffeur, on a Pacific Northwest itinerary designed exclusively for photogs. I'm proposing a week (or so) on a cruise schedule to get you to the most places possible in that time. You'll be taking so many pictures the film companies will be sending you letters, thanking you for for helping keep them in business. Oh, you're shooting digital? Then bring as much media storage as you can, you're gonna need it!

As far as answering questions on cost, I will need to know a few things from you, such as your requirements for hotels, is there another photog you'd like to room with, are you bringing a SO, etc. Your cost for the motor coach will be about $50/day or $350/week per person. If you have two to a room, you're looking at $35-60/day/person for hotels, plus food. Overall, I would estimate the trip to be $700-1,000 per person for the week. I will be able to give a much more accurate number once I know your interest.

This will be a very intense trip, including a good deal of hiking to get to certain opportunities, so I don't feel comfortable having children under the age of 13 along.

And just because it will be on someone's mind, I am not running this trip to make money. I will, however, be paid at my normal driver's wage, but that will be going right back in to my hotel rooms and expenses for the trip, which will just about even out. I want to do it because I am in a position to be able to take a lot of photogs to capture a lot of beautiful things, and I am in a position to be able to do a great job at it for much less than you would have to pay if you were with a tour guide who might not so much appreciate the way we photogs travel.

So at this point, I just want to see a show of hands, would anyone be interested? Please respond here, including how many days you would be interested in going. If there is interest, I'll want to know things like what might be of general interest to you (waterfalls, mountains, cities, etc.) so that I can best suit this trip to those who want to go, would you want to bring a significant other, would you want to/be willing to model for other photographers, etc.

If there is enough interest, I do have another driver who would be willing and happy to drive another motor coach (and her daughter is working to begin a modeling career, so an added bonus there), so space is limited to 100 people (after two buses, the price would go up for various reasons that I won't get into here).

I love the Oregon cost...and that whole area. I've got family in Vancouver and down in Northern California...so I've made the drive a few times. Great little towns and vistas along the way. I remember renting quads and riding around on the sand dunes...somewhere in Oregon.

I'd be interested...but maybe next year. Some of us are already working on a Rockey Mountain Meet-up in Alberta, for this July.

2009, eh? Well, okay. Then I'll have to make it BIGGER :mrgreen: And if only a few people can make 2007, working around BigMike's meetup, then I say we do a test run, in a van instead of a bus, and that'll help me plan what can work for a bus. Please note, being able to make it in 2007 means you don't miss Germany because you came to the Northwest!

Since we have over two years for this, I want enough people to take over each city/town we go into, make 'em wonder how a cruise ship managed to park in Klamath Falls, OR.